Mantis

Re: Whats wrong with Cliches ? Sounds perfectly logical and (dare I say it) realistic, there being historical precedence in wet navies. Not a cliche at all. Realism example: between WWI and WWII, Britain cut back on defence spending, so the Royal Navy couldn't afford to build any new capital ships. In the 1930's, with a number of WWI-era battleships nearing the end of their projected 20-year life, leaving the mighty Royal Navy with virtually no battleships at all, the decision was made to put off the scrapping of the Revenge class by a few years, retiring one as each of the new Prince of Wales class was commissioned, and to rebuild the Queen Elizabeth class ships to extend their life by a decade, by which time further replacements should have been built. This rebuild involved razing and replacing their entire superstructure and the removal and replacement of their engines - effectively, apart from the hull and main armament, they were new ships, although the rebuild was much quicker and cheaper than building a complete new vessel. Footnote: WWII began before the scrapping program began. One of each class - Barham and Royal Oak - was lost in WWII, but the others all remained in service until the end of the war and none were scrapped until 1948 - after between 32 and 35 years of service!

Re: Star Hero fictional settings we haven't seen I haven't read either series of books myself, but what about Fred Saberhagen's Berserker universe, or the "Honorverse" of Honor Harrington? [Yes, I know there's a Military Sci-fi theme to my suggestions here so far...] On a different note, what about the crossover sci-fi/magic setting of Roger Zelazny's Amber novels?

Re: Retcon the CU Retcon the CU? I say raze the CU! I would ditch the CU in its entirety. What purpose does it serve? Does it matter to a 21st century super that the Valdorian Age is in the history books (or not)? Does it make any difference in the Alien Wars era whether or not supers existed in the 21st century? Well, since for all practical purposes they didn't, why bother saying they are in the same universe? Why not just say the Fantasy Hero universe and the Champions universe and the Star Hero universe etc are all separate, or even make them "multiverses"? All the CU apparently does is place limits on the creativity of writers - for although a submission need not conform to the CU, to date, how many have been submitted or published?? It strikes me as just a marketing gimmick - one rulebook, one timeline, multiple genres. It shoehorns multiple universes into one, and the result is two feet in one boot - crowded, uncomfortable, and impractical when trying to move forward.

Re: Game Maps and Counters Exchange

Re: Dogfighting Drawn from my knowledge of Air Combat Wargaming, here's a list of possible maneuvers to get you started: Slip/Sideslip Skid Snap roll (bank faster) Slat-assisted turn (requires a/c with slats!) Flap-assisted turn (speed-limited unless a/c has combat flaps) Dive bomb (requires a/c with dive brakes for best results!) Vertical Roll (aka aileron turn)/Immelmann Split-S Barrel roll Corkscrew Unloaded dive Negative-G turn Hammerhead/Tailslide Cobra (requires MiG-29!) Viffing (requires AV-8/Harrier!) Terrain-following For space combat, some of these are not applicable, but other fancy moves become possible. For example, in the new series of Battlestar Galactica, one of the Cylons that was being pursued flipped so it was flying backwards, but it could then fire "forwards" at its pursuer. Can't do that in atmosphere!

Re: How to handle RKA? This is what I did - I used the "2d6/2" option in fact. The players (and the GM ) could still win the STUN Lotto, but it became an Event rather than routine.

Re: Star Hero fictional settings we haven't seen

Re: Musings on Random Musings Yeah, the Catsuit Thread and the Boobs are Too Big Thread will do that to ya. What?

Re: A Thread for Random Musings Yay! I'm a llama again! . . . . .

Re: Sci-fi wear swords? Another reason from Traveller: Not all worlds are at the same tech level. Some worlds are-still-at/have-regressed-to pre-gunpowder tech levels. It is also possible that alien cultures - even if advanced - may not have invented gunpowder during their history, and/or the raw materials may not exist in sufficient quantities on their planet to make the discovery possible. In these cases, the edged weapon remains atop the arm's race totem pole in their society.

Re: A Thread for Random Musings Three assignments due within the next three weeks. And it's not just an average of one due per week, it actually is one due per week! Boy, am I looking forward to finishing this semester!

Re: Possible peculiar scenario idea It wasn't only the US that did this. There was a diplomatic incident in the '20s when RAF Fighter Command (then called "ADGB - Fighting Area") held an exercise. Since Germany was disarmed, the only nation close enough to launch an air attack on the UK with the types of planes in existence was France, so they were designated the "enemy" for the purpose of the exercise. The French were not happy about this and made an official complaint!

Re: WWYCD: "I, For One, Welcome Our New Insect Overlords" It's about time you bipeds were put in your place! EDIT: Actually, I'd be fairly obviously torn between joining with my interstellar kin and remaining loyal to the locals, given that the locals do discriminate against me... quite possibly the newcomers would not accept me either, it might depend on whether the GM decided that these visitors were part of my secret origin story or not.

Re: Musings on Random Musings I've thought of writing a GMs Guide, showing the pitfalls of under-preparedness. I shall call it "Desperate Hand-waves."

Re: Game Maps and Counters Exchange

Re: Game Maps and Counters Exchange For the DIY folks out there... They have 0.5" square bases have 1" high "faces", and hence will actually stand less than 1" tall. EDIT: The Copyright notice is just to stop anyone selling 'em, feel free to distribute them far and wide if they are useful!

Re: Musings on Random Musings

Re: Musings on Random Musings Like "Alice Cooper"?

Re: Musings on Random Musings An ignition of internet posters.

Re: Give me your house rules! That's not a problem. A problem is when they tell you to stay away from your own site. And tell you exactly why you should, in great and insulting detail.

Re: A Thread for Random Musings I am setting myself a challenge to reach 100 posts before my one year anniversary [Edit: 06 Nov 05] (I had over 100 posts at one time, but, you know, mumble, grumble, grumble). Which will be tricky, as the Free Time I have is very limited, making it hard to come up with content worthy of posting, even though the amount of posts required seems small.

Re: Musings on Random Musings As one father to another, it sounds to me like he has landed with the right parent. It is a big task you are taking on, though, I hope you have a solid support network (family, friends, etc). Best wishes to you and your son.

Re: Give me your house rules! I was reminded of this one the other day: To get a STUNx for a KA, roll 2d6, halve the result, and drop fractions. EDIT: for NPCs, a STUN total = points for the base KA dice (i.e 30 for 2d6) meant the NPC would not be Stunned on an average roll, or even a slightly above average roll, even without any Resistant defences.

Re: Name for French Brick I went with a 2d6 STUNx, divide by 2 and drop fractions. 30% of the results are x3, over 50% are x3 or x4, and a x1 is more likely than an x6. I wanted characters (and NPCs) who chose a KA to really want a KA, and not try to win the STUN lotto, but I also wanted the possibility of a yahtzee putting the target into next week. Nucleon's alternative, however, is extremely worthy of consideration. Could this advantage be extended to make even more lethal attacks, buying the advantage multiple times - increasing the KILL multiplier ("KILLx" ?) from x2 to x3 to x4 etc? Or would it progress x2, x4, x8...?

Re: Name for French Brick